Preview: Asheville Council weighs budget, rezonings on June 24

On Tuesday, June 24, Asheville City Council will vote on the annual budget, which holds the property tax rate steady and pumps millions into capital improvements such as sidewalks on Hendersonville Road, greenways at Town Branch and Clingman and a roundabout at Five Points.

According to the agenda, Council will also review a rezoning request that allows Roots & Wings School of Design to turn existing buildings at 573 Fairview Road into offices, instructional services, artist studios and an arts-education facility. The property’s current zoning classification, Neighborhood Business, “does not permit instructional services, schools, artist studios or day care/pre-school uses,” according to the city staff report. On June 4, Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the request.

A public hearing is also set for considering an expansion of the Central Business District to include five parcels located at the southwest corner of Hilliard and Asheland Avenues. In the past year, Council has approved similar requests on Asheland. This one comes from city staff and the Asheville Downtown Association.

City staff note that expanding the CBD at the site is “consistent with City-adopted plans and strategic goals for development in this area,” which, in the Downtown Master Plan, has been identified as an area with potential for urban growth.

The rezoning, if approved, would be paired with an ordinance change allowing new buildings on the site to be as as high as 145 feet. The current zoning limits the height to 80 feet.

And this from the city clerk:

PRIOR to the formal meeting, City Council will be holding pre-arranged interviews for the Neighborhood Advisory Committee and the Public Art & Cultural Commission, beginning at 3:58 p.m. in Room 209 of City Hall.

To review Council’s Tuesday, June 24, agenda, click here. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in City Hall’s second-floor Council chambers.